Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-05-31
STUDENTS "STIFFS."
HOW DlSSscTING MATERIAL IS
UTILIZED IN A MEDICAL COLLEGE.

Handling Cadayers I'm . Barrei-Preser
walton OF . Corpse by Means OF I'm
b~iming Fluid-Scen~s In the Diss.ctin,
Room.
When Janitor Hicks and Assistant Mix,
had rolled all the barrels into the inject
/. ing room they took down half dozen o
the shelves and placed them on the floor
After removing a cadayer from barre
they laid il out ON the shelf, and theI
raised the shelf to a table, where they lef
II aud turned 10 the next subject. Befor,
all the barrels We're emptied they found
that there was not room ON the tables fol
all of them, and Hicks accordingly pro
ceeded To embalm those already laid out
He performed this task precisely a. he hat
hundreds Of times before. He took down
d gigantic piston syringe and filed IL with
d solution of plaster Of paris. This done
he laid the syringe aside for momen,
while he made an incision with surgeon
knife into the carotid artery of the cadaver
TO get still further from technical terms
lie cut cash in the artery that runs ul
the neck where one may feel strong
pulse beat. There are two of these arte.
ries, and Hicks, following his ancient in.
sti uA Nii' s'Ollit bibtl
flowed, but not much Next he inserted
the end Of the syringe in the cash and
into the severed artery. Then followed a
hard push on the piston, which sent the
embalvling fluid all through the body, it
was evident very quickly, for the solution
is pink, and i'll a moment the arteries in
all parts Of the body could he traced by y
pink line
IL l. wonderful bow thorough this work
is, generally one injection OF the solution
serves the purpose, and at the most two
are sufficient Sufficient for what, To
keep the body in state Of preservation
for the month or more that elapses befoi.
the students get through with it. The
embalming properly done, Hicks and Mike
lifted the shelf with the cadaVer on il to a
place against the wall. There it was left
entirely nude and unmarked except by its
own blood from the accidental and intend
ell lacerations il had undergone Appar-
entity il did not occur to Hicks or Mike to
wonder what name il had borne in life
They are no respectors OF identity. But
they represent their employers and do
their work i'll a netbodical, businesslike
way, and the room they work in knows
nothing Of sex; II is not recognized In in
animate flesh. The cadaver which stopped
breathing no more perhaps than thirty
hours ago, aud which was called q woman
until the heart ceased to beat, comes to
the injecting room simply as q structure
Of flesh, bones, nerves, tissues, limbs and
organs; il is pulled by main strength
froIu its barrel, gashed at the carotid ar
terry injected with a solution OF plaster OF
paris laid On its shelf To wait its turn,
uncovered and unconsidered, unless some
idle thought is bestowed upon it, rs il the
embahne. were To wonder what student
would be lucky enough to get the head.
IN TIE DIssEcTING ROOM.
When Hicks and Mike had en,ptied all
the barrels and embslmed all the cadavers
they set about the next step in the pro-
gress of the subject for dissection. This
was u transport the cadsvers TO the dis
sectiag room up stairs. To do this they
required the assistance Of a student who
was at work in the building. A rope was
cast about the upper part Of \ dead body
and tied under the arms. One man took
hold of the end OF the rope and the other
of the legs and trunk, and in this way,
with good deal Of jolting against the
walls and stumbling on the stairs ,-they
GOT their burden into the dissectiEg room
Ii takes about three weeks for a body TO
go through the dissecting room. As the
tables are kept pretty well supplied,
ii generally happens that a cadaver has To
wait u few days in the injecting room for
Il vacancy. When this occurs the profes-
sor of anatomy posts a notice in the col
lege To this effect: Material for dissec-
ton will be furnished to the following
gentlemen on - day
Then follows q list Of students whose
turn is TO avail themselves Of the in, alua-
BILE privileges offered by the institution in
its dissecting room. From the list Of stu
dents anybody can tell how many fresh
cadayers have been brought in, for the
number VI men On the list will always bc
a multiple of five, and dividing this num-
Der by five will give the number of cadav
ers. When the students report for mate
rial each one pays the clerk Of the college
g. This is not obligatory, and a man is
not compelled either to accept dissecting
material when his name is posted or pay
his fee Most of the students, however,
ere eager 10 agail themselves Of the op-
portunities The fee of 81 entities the
student to one part of tho cadaver, which
is divided into five parts-the heal, the
right arm, the left arm, the right leg and
the left leg Discrimination as to the dis
tributi0n Of the respective parts is made
according TO priority Of application.
REMOVING DEBRIS.
Five students then work together on b
cadayer They may do all the work at
the appointed table in the dsSecting room,
OF, ms many do, they may take their part
home and cut ii up there. Cases have &C
Cured though in violation Of rule,
where n student desiring To take aaVau-
tage of Il brief vacation and yet unwilling
IL lose time altogether in his study, has
packed an arm or q heao Into a travelling
bag and carried it with him into another
state, and cut il up theie in the intervals
of family fluctuations and reunions. IL
they do their dissecting outside Of the col
lege building they make such disposition
of the refuse as seems 20 them fit; most
of them burn it, The refuse is, of course,
the tegument, muscles, arteries, etc,
which are removed from the part under
study. In case the work is done at the
college all this is provided for; each stu
dent has pan, or slop jar, into which he
throws the tegument as soon as it has
been removed, and the various muscles,
membranes and the rest follow il from
day 10 day as the task Of stripping the
bones progresses.
Now and then Mike makes the rounds
from tabl to ieable with a larger slop jar
collecting the refuse In this way he gets
a jar full of pieces Of the thirty different
eadavers and empties them into a barrel.
When the barrel has stood several days,
growing constantly fuller of human
refuse, il gives forth a strong odor of de-
cay. but the students do not mind il par